Active Stretching is Best After Warming Up

National Institute of Health27.03.2014

The National Institute of Health summarized stretching activities in one sentence: “To avoid decrease in strength and performance that may occur in athletes due to static stretching before competition or activity, dynamic stretching is recommended for warm-up.”

But what is the difference between "static" and "dynamic" stretching, and does it matter?

“Static stretching, where a specific position is held with the muscle on tension to a point of a stretching sensation and repeated.”

“There are 2 types of dynamic stretching: active and ballistic stretching. Active stretching generally involves moving a limb through its full range of motion to the end ranges and repeating several times. Ballistic stretching includes rapid, alternating movements or ‘bouncing’ at end-range of motion; however, because of increased risk for injury, ballistic stretching is no longer recommended.”

So, in other words, it’s better to stretch in an active manner, where your limbs are moving through their range of motion. This is exactly the kind of dynamic stretching that takes place while rebounding.